Sunrise on Mercury

by Robert Silverberg

1st Pan 1986 edition paperback vg+ book In stock shipped from our UK warehouse

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction, Science Fiction, Short Story Collection

176 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1975

About the author

There are many authors in the database with this name.

Robert Silverberg is a highly celebrated American science fiction author and editor known for his prolific output and literary range. Over a career spanning decades, he has won multiple Hugo and Nebula Awards and was named a Grand Master by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America in 2004. Inducted into the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame in 1999, Silverberg is recognized for both his immense productivity and his contributions to the genre's evolution.
Born in Brooklyn, he began writing in his teens and won his first Hugo Award in 1956 as the best new writer. Throughout the 1950s, he produced vast amounts of fiction, often under pseudonyms, and was known for writing up to a million words a year. When the market declined, he diversified into other genres, including historical nonfiction and erotica.
Silverberg’s return to science fiction in the 1960s marked a shift toward deeper psychological and literary themes, contributing significantly to the New Wave movement. Acclaimed works from this period include Downward to the Earth, Dying Inside, Nightwings, and The World Inside. In the 1980s, he launched the Majipoor series with Lord Valentine’s Castle, creating one of the most imaginative planetary settings in science fiction.
Though he announced his retirement from writing in the mid-1970s, Silverberg returned with renewed vigor and continued to publish acclaimed fiction into the 1990s. He received further recognition with the Nebula-winning Sailing to Byzantium and the Hugo-winning Gilgamesh in the Outback.
Silverberg has also played a significant role as an editor and anthologist, shaping science fiction literature through both his own work and his influence on others. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with his wife, author Karen Haber.

Reviews

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a collection of eight stories by Silverberg that was aimed at what was called at the time the juvenile market. (Now it would be YA.) Two of them were first published under the pseudonym Calvin M. Knox, and all of them are from the 1950s except the last story, After the Myths Went Home (one of my favorites), which is from a 1969 issue of F & SF. It's interesting that all eight are from different sources; one each from Science Fiction Stories, Astounding SF, Galaxy, Infinity, Saturn, Fantastic Universe, F & SF, and one from Pohl's Star original anthology series. They're good stories, age appropriate, though some are a bit dated what with expanded awareness of colonialism and such. I thought they were thoughtful and thought-provoking and fun!

[Clio]

Love Silverberg. This is an easy to read collection of thought provokers. It's sci-fi from the 50's and 60's and it retains that world weary ennui with a naive hopefulness in human nature that typifies that vintage. Some stories have sat with me since last time I read this, such as There Was An Old Woman and The Four (sad snowflakes). A perfect collection if golden age sci-fi floats your boat.

[James Kinsley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Silverberg's a master. As varied as the stories are here, and the concepts examined, they never fail to be both accessible and entertaining. The colonialism of Precedent rankles a bit, but this is, after all, over sixty years old now. A cracker of a collection.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good selection of stories from one of the Names of the golden era of science fiction. One or two of the stories seem a little run-of-the-mill, but the majority are very good.

[Timothy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Two different publications under the "Sunrise on Mercury" title here, with only 4 common stores ...

the 1975 first publication with this title, 8 stories:

Sunrise on Mercury (1957)
Hi Diddle Diddle! (1959)
Birds of a Feather (1958)
There Was an Old Woman (1958)
Alaree (1958)
The Macauley Circuit (1956)
Company Store (1959)
After the Myths Went Home (1969)

the 1983 & 1986 publications with this title, 13 stories:

Sunrise on Mercury (1957)
Why? (1957)
There Was an Old Woman (1958)
Alaree (1958)
Going Down Smooth (1968)
The Man Who Never Forgot (1958)
World of a Thousand Colors (1957)
The Day the Founder Died (1974)
The Artifact Business (1957)
The Silent Colony (1954)
The Four (1958)
Precedent (1957)
After the Myths Went Home (1969)

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Silverberg's best are definitely his oldest.

His writing skills might get better as time progresses, but unfortunately his output doesn't.

This collection of 50s and 60s short stories highlight that.

[Maria]

Forgot how much I enjoyed Silverberg. This copy has very yellow pages - it hasn't seen the light of day for many years.